Since its inception there have been 5,200
approvals via 600 doctors through the
scheme; 500 of those approvals occurred in
Western Australia.
Ms Wraight said she had found it impossible
to find either an AP or a GP willing to make
an application to the TGA.
A lack of understanding
Sanjay Nijhawan of Cannabis Access Clinics
said there were two components in GPs'
apprehension to prescribe.
"One of course is the lengthy process, which
takes time and effort, and obviously Medicare
does not reward that appropriately for the
length of time you would spend on the
patient," Dr Nijhawan said.
"Number two of course is the lack of
understanding of how medical cannabis
actually works."
WA Health Minister Roger Cook agreed there
was a limited appreciation of medicinal
cannabis in the state's primary care
community.
"We're very much in the early days of
understanding the impact of cannabinoids and
their benefits for people suffering from a
range of conditions," he said.
"Many doctors have said to me they'd be
happy to prescribe cannabis-based medicines
if they knew how much to prescribe and how
long to prescribe it for.
"That's one of the mysteries we're still just
getting to understand."
Costs remain sky high
Ms Wraight said another roadblock in
accessing the drug legally was the cost.
Medicinal cannabis is not on the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so patients
need to pay full price for products they are
prescribed.
For a month's supply of cannabis pills, Ms
Wraight pays between $80 and $100.
She said if she bought the product through a
pharmacist, she could be paying up to $450 a
month.
"It's a whole lot cheaper to buy it from the
black market than it is to buy legally," she
said.
"It's driving people underground and they're
getting so fed up they're getting their supply
wherever they can get it."
The affordability of medicines prompted Mr
Cook to raise the issue with Federal Health
Minister Greg Hunt.
"I wrote to him last year to ask him to consider
utilising the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme
as a way of providing price or cost relief to
patients," Mr Cook said.
"What he pointed out to me is that you can
only use the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme
once a drug has got TGA approval and once
we understand better the impact for the
patient.
"As other products come on the market you
can see the increasing downward pressure on
that price and hopefully they'll become more
affordable."
'Resist the temptation'
Mr Cook urged Western Australians to be
patient and "resist the temptation" of sourcing
medicinal cannabis illegally.
"Don't trust them unless they are an approved
supplier with Australian accreditation," he
said.
"We know community sentiment is running
ahead of the medical science on this.
"We are moving as quickly as possible so
people don't feel tempted to buy online, to
pick up some dodgy product from somewhere
else."
But for users like Ms Wraight, waiting is not
an option.
"It's impossible to do this properly," she said.
"I'm 89 years old. I'm not going to be around
for much longer.
"To live with my pain is absolutely
demoralising.
"As long as I keep taking this, I am
completely out of pain."
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/medicinal-cannabis-
impossible-to-do-properly-prompts-woman-to-source-supply-
through-her-church/ar-BBVUR5s